Top 5 Safari Destinations in Uganda
August 18, 2021
The top 5 safari destinations in Uganda include the two most popular primate destinations in the world among scientists, researchers, and tourists. The list also includes three incredible savannah game parks that protect some of the rarest animals in the world.
Uganda is very popular with primate enthusiasts and provides incredible Africa safari experiences to emulate its neighbors in the east. It’s only in Uganda where a safari holiday can comfortably include jungle adventures, game drives, and boat safaris and still allow the guest to meet most of Africa’s incredible wildlife without leaving the country.
Without taking so much of your precious time planning your Uganda gorilla safari, let’s take a look at the top 5 popular safari destinations in Uganda you can include on your trip.
Top 5 Safari Destinations in Uganda
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Kibale National Park
- Murchison Falls National Park
- Lake Mburo National Park
1. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Sitting on Uganda’s southwestern with DRC and Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park protects part the last half of the world’s mountain gorillas within its rainforest jungle. The 331 sq km swathe of tropical forest is Uganda’s number one destination—attracting the most significant number of leisure travelers into the country.
This verdant swathe of emerald greenery and dramatic scenery stretches along the Albertine Rift Valley highlands composed of thick impenetrable tropical jungle, to which the park gets its name. The park is formerly part of the more extensive Virunga forest cut off by historical human settlements and is now a tiny verdant jungle surrounded by steep cultivated slopes and human villages.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park protects a rich mosaic of montane ecosystems, including evergreen and bamboo forests, open grassland, swamp, and heath. Its best-known inhabitants are the mountain gorillas, but it also hosts 150 mammal species, but most of these are small forest creatures. Forest elephants roam its forest floor, although rarely seen, bushbuck, duiker and forest buffalo, chimpanzee, black and white colobus monkeys also call this jungle home.
There are 350 recorded bird species in Bwindi National Park, with 14 bird species found nowhere else in Uganda and 23 bird species endemic to the Albertine region (80% of Albertine endemics).
The most famous activity in this rainforest park is tracking the mountain gorillas. The park has nineteen gorilla groups habituated for gorilla trekking excursions that set out every morning and spend a memorable moment with the mountain primates. Setting out from any of the four sectors in Bwindi (Buhoma, Nkuringo, Rushaga, and Ruhija sectors), just outside the park, expert guides and rangers lead small groups of tourists to each gorilla family and allow them to spend at least one hour savoring the once-in-a-lifetime moment with the gorillas.
The other most popular activity in Bwindi is the gorilla habituation experience, where small groups of tourists are allowed to spend a day with researchers habituating a wild gorilla family. It is the most intense experience for high adrenaline adventurers and costs more than double the gorilla trekking permit price.
A gorilla permit that allows you the guided gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park costs $800 per person per day. And the habituation experience permit costs $1500 per person per day.
Outside the park, surrounding the four sectors, are a great selection of camps and lodges catering to all kinds of travelers. A luxury traveler who seeks exotic comfort and the backpack budget adventurer will definitely find Bwindi a top safari destination in Uganda.
Encounter Africa organizes gorilla trekking tours in Bwindi, processing the gorilla permit, accommodation, and planning transport and meals so that you can enjoy trekking the gorillas.
Toping the list of the top 5 destinations in Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park also offers a wide variety of other hikes, besides gorilla trekking, making it possible to spend several days around the park.
Tourists can visit the nearby stunning Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Mutanda for relaxing holidays leading to the gorilla trek or after the experience. You can take a boat ride, canoe to the small islands, or visit a native village tribe at any one of the lakes.
Fewer tourists embark on the arduous day treks to Mount Mgahinga (famous for its beautiful crater lake) or Mount Muhabura and Mount Sabinyo.
Around the park, hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, and village cultural experiences offer something interesting for all adventurers.
Where to see mountain gorillas is a great post we would recommend reading to know more about the gorilla habitats in Uganda.
2. Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park, the second largest and most biodiverse park in Uganda, is the country’s most famous safari destination. The park lies along Uganda’s southwestern safari circuit, right above Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and below Kibale Forest with the imposing Rwenzori Mountains in the backdrop.
Queen Elizabeth supports a wide range of unique plants and animals species by sitting on 1,978 square kilometers (764 sq mi) of open savannah plains, wetlands, swamps, crater lakes, tropical forests, and woodland. It supports about 95 mammal species (including 20 carnivores and ten primate species) and more than 700 bird species, making it one of the most biodiverse safari destinations in Uganda.
The most rewarding attractions in this popular safari destination are the safari game drives and boat safaris on the Kazinga Channel that bring visitors close to some of Africa wild’s top celebrities. You can easily spot the elephant, buffalo, various antelope species, leopard, hyena, hippo, and the remarkable Ishasha tree-climbing lions on a game drive. A boat cruise on Kazinga Channel will bring you close to the hippos, crocodiles, and various animals that converge on the shores for a drink.
A walk through the valley of the Apes, Kyambura Gorge, is one of Uganda’s most rewarding forest walks. It is in this gorge that you’ll find a troop of habituated chimpanzees that will steal away your attention and transport you back into primitive time.
Most travelers find the tree-climbing lions a rare and remarkable sight. Most tour Uganda operators add the lazy drive through the Ishasha sector to most safari packages from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park also boasts of more than 700 bird species, making it one of East Africa’s top birdwatching destinations and the most famous destination among locals and tourists.
You can comfortably visit Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable, Kibale Forest, and Lake Mburo National Parks on the same trip, giving you a chance to combine primate adventure with savannah game. An experience no other destination in African can provide.
We wrote a trending post on how to book your gorilla permit; it is compelling to read.
3. Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park also lies on the southwestern Uganda safari circuit, contiguous with Queen Elizabeth National Park, on the edge of Lake Gorge. The 766 square kilometers (296 sq mi) park is one of the last remaining rainforests with lowland and montane forests.
Kibale Forest harbors the highest concentration of primates in Africa, with 13 primate species swinging its tree canopies, including over 1500 chimpanzees, the endangered red colobus monkey, and the rare L'Hoest's monkey.
Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest is incredibly popular with tourists that want to meet our primitive cousins in their natural setting, which comfortably places Kibale on the top 5 safari destinations in Uganda. Visitors set off daily guided hikes into the jungle to find a habituated family, spend delightful moments with the chimps as forage and socialize within their natural environment.
Although habituated chimpanzee troops are the biggest attractions in this top safari destination, the park offers excellent nature walking trails and the most rewarding birding trails. The park boasts over 300 bird species, including the great blue turaco, yellow-rumped tinkerbirds, little greenbul, crowned eagle, African pitta, and the black bee-eater. Set out on the Bigodi Swampy trails after your chimpanzee adventure, and you’ll be treated to wild heaven.
If you’re a keen observer of the natural world, you’ll find Kibale forest a remarkable safari destination. On a slow-paced hike, you may see some of the most colorful reptiles and glittery amphibians and a magnificent array of butterfly species.
With all the various activities in Kibale, one could easily spend at least a week sampling the delights of the pristine rainforest. If you don’t go primate tracking, you can walk around the many crater lakes that dot the western and northern sides of the park.
The stunning views of vast tea plantations that border the edges of the park are something to marvel at. Additionally, visitors can hike into the Rwenzori Mountains and watch the natural heavens from the skies.
Kibale National Park is usually added to gorilla trekking safari packages in Uganda, adding chimpanzee tracking to the exhilarating mountain gorilla encounter. Kibale is easily combined with Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks.
Talk to our safari consultants to guide you in planning your journey to the Kibale forest.
4. Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park makes the top 5 safari destinations in Uganda for having the most powerful waterfall in the world—a beautiful spectacle that attracts many tourists to this game park. The waterfall is like about 3000 buckets of water forcing through a tiny space of about 23 ft wide with immense pressure.
The water then plummets 43 meters before flowing out on a calm Victoria Nile towards Lake Albert to create a waterbed for hippos, crocodiles, and a massive waterhole for the park’s big savannah game.
Murchison Falls is the largest destination in Uganda. The Victoria Nile cuts through the park to create the northern and southern game tracks for wildlife viewing. Morning and late evening game drives set out every day to find the incredible savannah players, including the big five African safari animals.
The park has about 70 mammal species and 450 bird species. Buffalo and elephant are common on Murchison game drives. Lions are surprisingly easy to spot because of the abundant prey. The Victoria Nile is swarmed with crocodiles and hippo schools, and the famous Rothschild’s giraffe is more populated in Murchison than anywhere else in Africa.
Murchison Falls sits on the northern side of the western Uganda safari circuit, usually taking the last or first position on most Uganda safari packages. It’s usually included with its rival savannah park in the extreme northeastern corner or with Kibale Forest.
5. Lake Mburo National Park
Lake Mburo National Park makes our top 5 safari destinations in Uganda for its easy access and creating a long route buffer between Entebbe and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Considered the tiniest park in Uganda, Mburo is alive with spectacular landscapes, forest galleries, woodlands, wetlands, and a surprising diversity of mammals and birds found nowhere else in the country.
The 370 sq km park has the largest population of Zebras and probably the highest concentration of leopards in Uganda. It is the only park in Uganda to see klipspringer, impala, and eland antelope species. Other commonly observed in open grasslands include buffalo, several antelope species, warthog, hyena, and bushpig.
Lake Mburo, the largest of the 14 lakes in the area, provides calm boat safaris to see hippos, crocodiles, and an incredible amount of waterbirds, especially the fish eagles and the very rare African finfoot, and white-backed heron.
Apart from moderate game drives, Lake Mburo National Park is the only savannah safari park that provides horseback and walking safaris in Uganda. Because Mburo doesn’t have lions and elephants, visitors can head out and view wild game on foot or horseback rides provided by Mihingo Lodge.
Most gorilla trekking packages will include Lake Mburo for an overnight before driving another 300 miles to Bwindi or on the way back from the gorillas.
When Should You Visit Uganda?
You can visit the top 5 destinations in Uganda any time of the year. However, the best time to visit Uganda for gorilla trekking is during the two dry seasons of December to February and June to September, when the trails are dryer.
If you’re planning to see chimpanzee troops in Kibale, the best time to go is during the two wet seasons of February to June and September to November. There’s plenty of fruit and plants during the rainy seasons for the chimps to stay in easy to access places than in the dry seasons. In the dry seasons, chimps forage in the deeper forest zones making it challenging for trackers to find them.
Start planning your safari to explore the most popular destinations in Uganda with a local consultant. We have all the ground information and are willing to share it with you to fix the best Rwanda safari that suits your liking.
Send us an email at info@gorilla-tracking-uganda.com, and a safari consult specializing in planning Uganda private trips will be replying to your email immediately.
You can also read our month-by-month recommendation on when you should book your gorilla safari.
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Take a budget gorilla trip into Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to trek mountain gorillas and stay in low-cost camps and gorilla lodges.
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